Local dancers revel as Clara in Mateo's 'Nutcracker'

By Beth Hunter, Correspondent

Tuesday

Nov 21, 2017 at 10:00 AM

CAMBRIDGE - Dancing the role of Clara - and even waiting in anticipation off stage - is an exhilarating experience for four young local women performing the prestigious part in this year’s production of Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre’s “The Nutcracker.”

But all that goes hand in hand with hard work and late nights. In the process, new friendships are forged and a unique community is formed with more than 100 children, ages 5-21 from throughout Massachusetts, joining the skilled company dancers in roles as Party Children, Mice, Soldiers, Polichinelles, Cherubs, Angels and, of course, Clara.

“I think the audience likes Clara a lot because she helps tell the story throughout the whole show,” said Shaye Child, 13, of East Bridgewater, the youngest of the four dancers who share the role of Clara, rotating in performances throughout this season.

Child is not a regular student of the Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre School but was selected to play Clara during an open audition. Mateo's is the only professional “Nutcracker” production in the area to hold open auditions.

The holiday extravaganza as we know it today began humbly in 1816 as “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” a children’s story written in German by E.T.A. Hoffman. In 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia, the glorious music of Tchaikovsky was added and “The Nutcracker” ballet was born.

This now classic tale unfolds through the eyes of a young girl, Clara. As her family gathers to celebrate Christmas Eve, the line between holiday festivities and pure fantasy is blurred.

Amy Chan, 17, of Cambridge, has performed in Mateo’s “The Nutcracker” for the past 13 years, several of those years in the role of Clara. “Being on stage is the best. Rehearsing is a lot of work, but it is worth it in the end,” she said.

For 18-year-old Ashley Watts, of Wellesley, there is a unique perspective that comes with the role of Clara.

“I love how you get to work with the little kids who play mice and party kids and you get to be in a leadership position there,” she said. “But at the same time, as Clara, we work with the company, too. And then we are the little kids. The members of the company are our role models and teachers.”

In the story, the gift of a nutcracker from the mysterious Dr. Drosselmeyer leads to an enchanting adventure. In addition to dancing, the young women who perform the role of Clara are having their own real life adventures that include more mundane things such as commuting an hour each way to rehearsals, submitting college applications, and juggling homework and school.

While they have been cast for their technical skills as dancers, “Time management is crucial,” said Alexandra Kellie, 13, of Arlington, who also dances the role of Clara.

For Chan and Watts, this year’s performance will be bittersweet. This year will be the last they will perform as Clara. As high school seniors, next year they’ll be heading off to college.

The traditional holiday “Nutcracker” performances are important to the Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, although the dance company generally focuses on new works. For many people, the holiday classic is a gateway to ballet, Mateo said.

“So I want that introduction to include the most essential qualities of ballet as an art form: beauty, elegance and simplicity,” Mateo said. “Beauty as in the natural world, appreciated by everyone around the planet.”

Simplicity is what makes his “The Nutcracker” more about “the human experience and less about a particular culture at a particular time and place in history,” Mateo said. The focus is on the beautiful dancing.

The holiday show is still fun for children, entertaining for adults and a beautiful visual spectacle. But “The Nutcracker” should not be a flashy billboard to see from afar, according to Mateo, rather it is an “experience to become part of.”

Even if you have seen “The Nutcracker” many times, Mateo suggests you should see it again. “For the same reasons you play certain music over and over again,” Mateo said. “The style is layered and there are always new things to be discovered.”

Over the years, Mateo has made a deliberate effort to diversify his audience. Early on, the company danced in downtown theaters all over the state. Recently his “Nutcracker” returned to The Strand Theatre in Dorchester, which has become a second home for the company. Mateo recently opened a second school near there, and this year’s “Nutcracker” has dancers from many neighborhoods.

The diverse group is gratifying, said Mateo, as he sees dance as having a broad potential for civic engagement.

“A dance organization can do more than just open the theater doors, fill the house, entertain..," said Mateo. “The community leaves, never reconnects again. So what other things can we be doing as organizations and as individual artists to connect with the community, beyond providing entertainment? To help the community understand that we are an integral part of that community and not just once-a-year visitors?”

Ten years ago Mateo founded the Dance for World Community project. His goal then and now is to deepen the connections between dance organizations, their communities and the issues that matter most to them. He has partnered with other arts organizations and will soon be launching new projects, including a digital platform, to build learning communities, he said.

“For all the entertainment options out there, because of all the new media, live dance remains something that is unmatched in terms of engaging the whole person in a very immediate and profound way. That is the connective power of dance.”